Intervals

Wow, what a workout! I had intervals on the schedule today--8x400m repeats (which means running 1/4 mile really hard, then jogging a quarter mile to recover, then repeat that for a total of 8 times). I've actually never done intervals outside before. I've only ever done them on the dreadmill, and not very structured. So this was new to me, and it was TOUGH. But the time goes by so fast because you're only thinking about the next 1/4 mile. Four miles flew by and I was done. My splits:

It was kind of neat to see the graph of my pace, too...

Obviously, I started my first interval waaay too fast at about a 6:00/mi pace! Hahaha, I felt like I was going to die after about a tenth of a mile. I'm excited that my 13th split was under an 8:00/mi pace (barely, but it was!)

I love using the interval function on the Garmin. I set it up to quarter mile intervals, so it beeps when you need to start running hard and then beeps again when you start recovering. You never even have to look down at the watch, so you don't get distracted--just listen for the beeps.

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I'm amazed at the response to yesterday's post--you've come up with lots of good questions! I spent a couple of hours yesterday answering them, and I'm still not done. I'll probably publish that post on Saturday. I'm also working on two other posts--one about wine, and one about binge eating, because I've had a lot of interest on those two topics. Tomorrow is my plastic surgery consult, so I'm going to write about that as soon as I get home.

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Yesterday, I spent nearly all day working on the t-shirt quilts for my kids. I cut up all their old baseball and soccer shirts, and sewed them to make quilts. I did them from start to finish yesterday in about 6 hours total. Each quilt is made up of 16 rectangles (front and back of 8 shirts). Then I backed them with fleece, and tied them rather than quilted them, to save time. I would post pictures, but the shirts all have the name of our city, schools, etc, and I'm not comfortable putting that online.  The quilts are not very pretty, anyways--just sentimental :)

I took a break mid-day to go for a 3.5 mile easy run. I chose the worst possible time of day--1:30 in the afternoon, when it's the hottest. I haven't run in heat like that since I ran in the Ragnar Relay last August! I chose a route that went along the lake, hoping it would be cooler, but I was still pouring sweat. My head was throbbing after that (hot runs always give me a headache).

Today I definitely need to get my house back in order. Spending so much time on the quilts yesterday meant my housework was put on the back burner, and now I have a lot to catch up on. It's amazing how one day of skipping chores really shows.

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Do you ever do interval training? Not just running, but whatever sport you choose... do it really hard for a set time or distance, then recover, and repeat? It's such a tough workout, but I love how fast the time goes by! I think I like intervals better than tempo runs.

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Questions

Yesterday, I put on my brand new shoes to go for a run, and I wasn't too happy with the way they were fitting. My toes felt really cramped. Yes, I had tried them on at the running store, so I don't know what happened, but I decided to take them back and get a wider shoe.

Brooks Adrenaline 11's

I called my mom from the car to tell her happy birthday, and she asked if we (the kids and I) wanted to meet her for lunch while we were out. So I went to the running store, and tried on some more shoes, and ended up buying the same damn shoes I always buy--Brooks Adrenaline's. There is nothing wrong with them, I would just like to try something NEW. And I was loving the lime green laces on the other ones I had bought. Maybe next time.

We met my mom at a coney island place for lunch. She was wearing her ruby ring from my dad. It fit her perfectly, and she really liked it. She was impressed that my dad could have picked that out ;)

When we got home, I woke Jerry up to watch the kids so that I could go for a run. I put on my new shoes and did 3 easy miles.

Run stats from the Garmin

After that, my dad asked if the kids wanted to come over, so the four of us rode to my parents house on our bikes (my parents live about 2/3 of a mile away). The kids stayed there, and then Jerry and I decided to ride our bikes up to the ice cream shop. I was a little nervous, because it's on a pretty busy road, and there are NO SHOULDERS on about half of the ride.

We made it just fine, and it was actually a really nice ride. It was 3.88 miles from my parents' house. I got a Reese cup sundae, we was SO good--and even better because I felt I had earned it by riding there. Then we rode home. Because we were riding so long (over 40 minutes) I felt like we totally earned our ice cream. When I checked the stats, I realized that we had not, in fact, earned much more than the cherry on top of our ice cream.

Bike stats from the Garmin

Only 220 calories burned! I didn't wear my heart rate strap with the Garmin since this was a leisure ride, so it might be off a little, but if anything, 220 is an OVER estimate. Next time we'll have to get ice cream about 30 miles away to earn it!

A lot of people have been asking me random questions lately, so at the suggestion of an annonymous comment, I think I'll write a post of questions and answers. So this is your change--if there is something you want to know about me, or the blog, or the topics I talk about, feel free to ask! You can e-mail me if you'd rather not comment. I'll put the questions into one post and answer them. I started working on it yesterday, so if you've asked me a question recently, then I'm probably already going to answer it.  (A couple of people also suggested I do a post about wine, which I will work on also--but that will be separate, because it's a big topic!)

Also, a couple of people have mentioned in comments that the first comment of each of my posts gets "eaten" by my words... when I look at it, it looks totally normal. Could someone explain that to me? Was it always like that, or just since I changed layouts? I have no idea how to fix it, especially because I don't see any problems.

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So, any burning questions for me? ;)

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Ruby

My run yesterday was AMAZING. It was a cool 52 degrees outside, and a very quiet morning. Before I even reached a quarter mile, I saw a mama cat and her kitten, who looked about 5 weeks old--a puffball! We have quite a few feral cats that live in the land across the street from us. The mama cat was a kitten herself last year, and now she has two little babies.  At about 2 miles into the run, I saw a mama duck and her 3 little ducklings, who crossed my path. They were adorable.  My legs were feeling really good, and I think it's probably because I've been going really easy and slow on my easy runs, like I'm supposed to. Five miles flew by.

When I got home, my dad called me and asked me if I could help pick out a gift for my mom's birthday tomorrow. He said she had mentioned a ruby ring, so he'd like to get that for her. (I knew she was hinting at a ruby ring for their 40th anniversary last month--the "ruby anniversary". I didn't tell him that that train had left the station a month ago! Better late than never, right?)

I told him that Sam's Club is the way to go for jewelry, because they have really nice jewelry at good prices, and a fail-proof return policy. I've returned a leather couch and love seat after 8 months of use because I broke the frame! (Yes, I was 253 pounds, and broke the couch when I sat down on it too hard). I didn't even have my receipt, but they refunded a few thousand dollars to my credit card. Whenever I want to make a large purchase, I usually go there first.

This is the ring he ended up buying, and I think it's GORGEOUS:

So I took the kids out with me, and we first went to the running store so I could get some new shoes. I have about 400 miles on my Brooks Adrenaline 11's, so it was definitely time. I've always had Brooks Adrenalines, but this time I ended up getting Brooks Ravenna 2's. I never choose my shoes based on how they look--how they feel is MUCH more important--but I love the green laces on these!

I just have an easy 3-miler on the schedule today, but I'm excited to try them out. I also bought a much-needed pouch to wear around my waist that is just big enough to hold my phone and car key. It's super small, but it can stretch to accommodate quite a bit. It's called a Spibelt, and I'm sick at myself for spending $22 on this tiny little thing! But I needed it:

I can probably fit my camera in there, too. A lot of times I see things that I wish I could take a picture of--like the kitten yesterday morning!  After the running store, we went to David's Bridal so that I could pick up my bridesmaid dress.

Then I took my bike into the bike shop to fix the issue I was having with it on Sunday. The man was extremely helpful, and he put air in my tires for me too (apparently they really needed it and I had no idea). He told me to check the pressure in them once a week. He said that my seat looked really low for me, so he put my bike on a trainer thing and had me get on it so that she could adjust it for me. He ended up raising the seat quite a bit, and I was surprised how much better it felt that way. The kid man who sold me the bike was supposed to do that, but he didn't. I think he must have been a new employee or something. I wanted to buy a bike helmet, because I still don't have one, but they were $45-60!! I couldn't bring myself to spend that much. I'll just buy a cheap one at Wal-Mart.

Spent the afternoon with Jerry, because he was off work, and then I went to Renee's for wine. I missed her--it's been a while since just the two of us got together for wine! So it was fun to catch up with her.

Jerry's off again today, and he has a softball game tonight that I'm going to.

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Do you spend a lot of money on exercise/sporting equipment? My bike and treadmill were obviously my biggest expenses at around $500 each, my Garmin was almost $300 when I first bought it, running shoes are $100 every 6 months or so, and my Under Armour running clothes aren't cheap! Definitely worth it, though, as expensive as this stuff is. Oh, and the cost of races? Yikes!

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Improvised cross-training

Yesterday, I had 60 minutes of cross-training on the schedule, so I decided to ride my bike. I got about 15 minutes into the ride when the chain kept making a clanking/grinding noise, like it was trying to shift gears or something. I went home and checked it out--not that I know anything about bikes--and when I turned the pedals, the chain was skipping back and fourth between two gears. I have no idea why. So I'll have to take it to the bike shop today.

Since I couldn't ride the bike, and I had only done 20 minutes of cross-training, I decided to do incline walking on the dreadmill. I didn't do anything too hard--gradually increased the speed and the incline for 40 minutes. Today I have my "long" run, which is only 5 miles right now.

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Some of you mentioned that I always seem to find good deals at garage sales. It's true--and I learned from my mom how to find them! She's a very serious garage saler ;)  To find the best deals, you should always go on the FIRST day of the sale, as early as possible. If the sale starts Friday, and you go on Saturday, you probably won't find much. If the sale starts Saturday at 9 AM, get there at 8 AM while they're setting up, and you'll get first pick.

Also, if something isn't marked with a price, don't ask, "How much is this?" Instead, ask, "This isn't marked with a price. Will you take $1 for it?" or whatever price you want to offer. I almost ALWAYS bargain the prices, too. If something is marked $5, I'll say, "Will you take $3 for this?" Most of the time, people just want to get rid of stuff and they say yes. Sometimes, they say no. It never hurts to ask!

I like to check out whoever is running the sale, too. I love when I see a teenage daughter, because I know I'll score some awesome clothes. Teenage girls insist on wearing name brands, and of course they never wear anything twice ;)  It definitely helps that I've lost weight too. As a size 24W, I never found clothes at garage sales. Now, I find waaay too many!

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I decided to go through my craft stuff yesterday and get rid of the majority of it. I had a TON of yarn... check this out:

Those 5 containers took up ALL the space underneath my bed. So I went through it all yesterday, kept the "good" stuff, and bagged up the rest to get rid of. I kept just one container, and the rest of the yarn was stuffed into three garbage bags. It's kind of freeing to get rid of that much stuff! I also went through my box of fabric and cut up my boys' sports t-shirts (soccer, t-ball) to make a quilt for each of them. Eli came in just as I was finishing the cutting of the shirts, and he FLIPPED THE FUCK OUT. Screamed and threw a huge tantrum, because he loved his shirts, and all that. I'm apparently the meanest mom in the world because I cut his shirts to make him a quilt.  Hopefully he forgets about it today!

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My cats have been cracking me up lately...

Paolo showing off his flexibility

Estelle thinks I can't see her when she sits there

Phoebe loves rolling around in the grass

Chandler always sleeps with his paw over his eyes

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What are some funny habits your pets have?  Estelle is the funniest cat EVER. She sounds like an elephant in a china shop when she runs around the house, because she's so clumsy. She loves to play fetch--usually in the middle of the night. She'll bring me a toy (with a bell in it, of course, so it wakes me up) and then annoys me until I throw it for her. She retrieves it and does it over and over about 10-15 times until she's satisfied. She also likes to hide in places where she thinks we can't see her. I've been collecting pictures of her doing this to make a "Where's Estelle?" photo book, kind of like Where's Waldo?  :)

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It's like Christmas morning...

...when I log on and read your comments on my blog! I mean it. Thank you all so much for the support, inspiration, loyalty, concern, advice, and laughs you give me on a daily basis.

But I have one question:  Am I the ONLY person that peels my carrots before eating them?

It's been driving me crazy for a while now. Every dieting/healthy living/etc blog that I read that shows pictures of carrots, the carrots are unpeeled. I'm assuming they are washed, but I had no idea that people ate carrots that weren't peeled. My mom always peeled them, and I never knew any different. I'm kind of repulsed by the idea of NOT doing it, because the carrots look so much cleaner when they are peeled. So I ask you, dear friends: Do you peel your carrots before eating, or just wash them?

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Okay, I have to address a couple of comments and questions from yesterday's post about me:

Linda, I think it's hilarious that you asked who told me about the vitiligo on my lady parts. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it was just my gynecologist ;)

About Camp Shane--MTV was actually there filming that show the summer that I was there! It was a Real Life episode called I'm Going to Fat Camp. I watched the whole episode, and I am not in it anywhere, so don't bother looking!  And yes, many most of the (older) kids there were there to hook up with other kids. The girls in my cabin were 13-14 years old, and that was ALL they cared about. As counselors, we actually had "Nookie Duty" on rotation at night to walk around with a flash light and catch kids making out and put a stop to it.

The whole experience was actually really disturbing, seeing the kids that were there because their parents made them go. I don't think any of the girls in my cabin would be classified as obese. Maybe slightly overweight, but some of them were actually pretty thin. Almost all of them came from a lot of money. One girl told me that her mom made her go to camp so that she (the mom) could spend the summer with her boyfriend, sans kids. Another girl told me that she was a size 6, and her mom told her she'd better come home a size 2 or smaller. A celebrity's daughter was there, and she got a LOT of attention.

Steph, I wish I could help with your frustration. I don't think I've ever experienced a TRUE plateau. Every time my weight loss stalled, it was because I was overeating or I binged or something like that. If you're feeling really discouraged and need a good mental boost, try lowering your sodium intake for a few days. That will make the scale drop a little and hopefully help you from feeling defeated.

Allison, when you made the chocolate pb oats, did you include the chia seeds? The chia seeds are what thickens it so quickly. When chia seeds mix with water, they form a gel-like substance, which makes it thicker.

As for all the comments about the book... I just don't know! Like I said, I'm super shy, and you already know I'm hypersensitive to criticism. I will think about it though.

And about Eminem... I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who loves his music!

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So yesterday was a rest day, which I definitely needed. My body was pretty sore from strength training Friday. Today I have 60 minutes of cross training scheduled, so I think I'll ride my bike while the kids are at church.

My favorite shirt that I got--$2!

In the morning yesterday, Jerry and I went to the biggest city wide garage sale EVER. There were sooo many people and cars up and down the streets. We just parked and walked up and down each street. I spent about $45, and I got a LOT of stuff. I bought a bunch of clothes--6 Hollister shirts (4 hoodies, 1 t-shirt, 1 sweater); a few shirts and a couple of pairs of sweats from Victoria's Secret PINK collection; a pair of jeans; two pairs of shoes; a couple pairs of comfy pants; a handmade lap quilt, which I LOVE, and it was only a quarter!  I also got a handmade kitchen apron for a quarter at the same sale. It's amazing how many people spend SO MUCH MONEY buying things brand new, only to sell them a garage sale for dirt cheap.

Another comfy hoodie

Out of everything I bought, the lap quilt is my favorite! 25 frickin cents for this!

I love handmade items, and it always makes me sad to see people sell them at garage sales. Some of my friends have hired me to make things for them (usually knitted or crocheted) and I charge a LOT for the--because it takes so much time to make! Someone on Sparkpeople asked me how much I would charge to make a jeans quilt, just like mine. I don't remember what I said, but I honestly don't think I'd do it for less than $200. I think it took me about 40 hours total.  If you're a new reader, I made a huge quilt out of all my jeans as they got too big on me. I cut them into squares and stitched them together, then backed it, and tied it. This is the finished product:

The day I finished my quilt project... relief!

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Can you guess what THIS is???

THAT would be my awesome packaging job for the Garmin ;)  I settled for duct tape instead of packing tape. It doesn't look pretty, but it got the job done. My Garmin is somewhere between here and New York right now! I decided to send it to the cooler climate states first, and we'll save the states like CA and TX for later when it's not hot enough to melt your skin off while running outside.

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Sorry this entry is so long!  Are you a crafty person? What do you like to make? If not, have you ever tried to learn a craft?  Also, I want to know about your carrots!

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10 Random Things About Me

I don't have a whole lot to say today, so I think I will take the time to be completely narcissistic and tell you some random things about ME that may not come up otherwise.

1. I have a very real addiction to chewing ice. I don't use the term "addiction" lightly here, either. I have to chew ice all day long. Sometimes, my ice maker cannot keep up with my ice chewing, and it makes me a complete wreck. I'm constantly walking back and fourth to the freezer to grab a piece of ice. When people learn this about me, they automatically assume that I have low iron or something, but my doctor has tested me time and again--and it's truly just an addiction. When I broke my jaw and I couldn't chew ice, it drove me CRAZY, but I was hoping it would force me to get over my addiction. However, as soon as I could open my mouth far enough, I was eating ice. I don't remember when the addiction started--I think it was when I was pregnant with Noah, and he's now 7.
2. I don't believe in call waiting. I think it is incredibly rude to talk to someone on the phone and then say, "Hold on a sec, I have another call."  So I have the call waiting turned off on my home phone and my cell phone. If people call me while I'm on the phone with someone else, then they'll hear a busy signal--remember the busy signal? ;)



Felted wine totes I designed

3. I taught myself to knit when I was about 12, and to crochet when I was about 25. I'm really damn good at doing both, but since I started blogging regularly, I haven't made the time for it. In fact, my first blogger was for the purpose of posting patterns that I have written. I have a horrible habit of starting projects and not finishing them, however. I usually have at least 5 or 6 projects on needles at one time, and I just work on whatever project I feel like at the time.
4. I know absolutely NOTHING about politics... and I don't care to. As soon as a conversation turns to something political, it's like my brain just shuts off. In college, my Political Science teacher gave us an extra credit question on a test (basically a freebie): Who is the president of the U.S.? And guess who was the only person in the class to get it wrong?! haha! In my defense, however, it was just after an election and I wrote down the former president's name instead of the new president :)
5. I have vitiligo. What is that, you ask? It's the same thing that Michael Jackson had that turned his skin white. It's a condition that causes your skin to have no pigmentation whatsoever in certain spots. Obviously, it's not as noticeable on me because I'm pretty pale as it is, but I have spots on my wrists, fingers, around my eyes, and perineum (yes, that would be near my lady parts). Most people don't notice my spots unless I point them out, so it doesn't bother me that much.
6. I'm an introvert, and extremely shy. In fact, some of my friends told me that they assumed I was snobby when they first met me, because I didn't make conversation or anything. I'm terrible at meeting new people, and even worse with small talk. Going to a party causes me severe anxiety. I almost always end up having fun, but the days leading up to it make me a nervous wreck. I'm even terrified of talking on the phone. I hate lapses in conversation, so I avoid the phone as much as possible. I prefer e-mail or texts. Strangely, I have no problem whatsoever calling customer service for something--go figure!



At Camp Shane with two other counselors (I'm the one in green, obviously)

7. I worked as a camp counselor at a "fat camp" in the summer of 2002 (the year before I got married). It is called Camp Shane and is in New York state. (For those of you that read the book I suggested, "What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets", you will find a Camp Shane camper on page 54). I was about 200 pounds at the time, and wanted to lose weight for my wedding, so I figured I might as well get paid for it :)  I was there 5 weeks (I was supposed to be there 9 weeks, but I left early). It was awful--not the food or anything, but I just felt like we weren't treated very well as counselors. I lost 15 or 20 pounds, and continued to lose when I got home. It was a really neat experience, and I'm glad I did it.



No make-up, no hair style

8. I have no problem whatsoever going out without make-up on. I probably only wear make-up two or maybe three days a week. And I rarely take the time to do my hair. My hair is really long and takes forever to blow it dry and then straighten it, so I usually throw it into a braid, a bun, or a ponytail and let it air dry. The only time I really take my time with it is when I'm going "out" out--to a party or Winers, or on a date with my husband. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I don't take the time to wear make-up and do my hair--but it gives me more free time, which I like :)  I'm a little self-conscious of the scar on my chin, but I try not to think about it. (The scar was from when my jaw broke, and the bone punctured a hole right through the front).
9. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I used to enter a "young authors" contest every year, and I would always win. I got A's in creative writing all through high school and college. I like to write because I have time to think about what I want to say beforehand. I'm really bad at quick comebacks when people talk to me, but it never fails that I think of something clever to say much later. When I'm writing, I can take my time to think about it first. My mom said she always dreamed I'd be an author, and I still think about it sometimes. I've actually written a book about my weight loss, but I don't think I'll ever do anything with it. It's collecting virtual dust on my computer. ;)   Besides, I really like blogging because I can write the same way that I would speak, and I don't feel too much pressure to write something good every time I sit down.
10. I am a big Eminem fan. *Blush* I am not a huge music freak, and I don't know the names of many bands or what's current on the radio. But people who know me are surprised to learn that I really like Eminem. It's a GREAT motivator to me when I run--particularly the song Lose Yourself  (that one is pretty tame!)  Another song that I LOVE (and this one is NOT tame, so if you're offended easily at all by profanity or "adult" topics, don't click on it, lol) is Shake That. Try listening to that without shaking your ass! ;)  Another one that I like is The Way I Am (again, uncensored).  A lot of people ask me about my user name "SlimKatie", and assume I picked it with the high hopes that I would one day be "slim" :)  However, I chose it because it rhymes with "Slim Shady" (Eminem's "alter ego"). When listening to his songs I would sing along, replacing Shady with Katie: "I'm Slim Katie, yes I'm the real Katie, all you other Slim Katie's are just imitating..."  Hahaha, I'm dorky, I know. That can be #11--my dorkiness.

So there you have it!  A random assortment of 10 11 things you may not have known about me!

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Do any of these things surprise you? Can you relate to any of them? Feed my ego, friends! ;)

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RECIPE: Chick Pea Curry

I'm not a huge fan of meat, so I like to cook vegetarian meal at least a few times a week. This is inspired by a recipe I found on Sparkpeople, and it was really good! I only made a couple of changes to it.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Chick Pea Curry

2 tsp. olive oil
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cumin
5 cloves of garlic, minced
5 tsp. of curry powder
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. oregano
salt & pepper to taste
2/3 cup of water

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Cook onion in oil until soft. Add garlic, ginger, and curry powder, and stir for a minute. Add water, tomatoes, chick peas, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover pan and simmer 5-10 minutes. If you want it thicker, then remove the lid while simmering. Serve over rice or quinoa.

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Re-Birthday

This entry is all over the place--sorry! I'm in the middle of about 10 different projects right now.

My wedding anniversary came and went on Tuesday. But today is another day to anniversary to celebrate--I know a lot of people call this their "rebirthday". Today is the day, in 2009, that I weighed in at 253 pounds and decided to change my life. I began cutting back on my food intake by counting WW points. Exactly a year later, I weighed in at a "normal BMI" weight of 144.  I actually took some "before" pictures on Aug 19, 2009, but I truly didn't think I was going to lose the weight--and the pictures are extremely embarrassing, so I don't want to post them. The look on my face is awful! As a cop-out, I'll just post my most recent comparison picture ;)

I looked back at my very first food journal, and laughed. Want to see it?

I hate yogurt and salad, but apparently I thought I needed to eat them to lose the weight? That only lasted one day. My advice? Eat things you enjoy, otherwise you won't stick with it very long! It's kind of fun to look back and see the food phases I went through--for a couple of months, I ate oatmeal for breakfast and lunch every day, because I loved it so much. I also had a long phase of eating a brownie sundae every day--a No Pudge! brownie with PB2, topped with frozen yogurt and a little Hershey's syrup. That lasted about 3 months.

But anyways, to kick off my rebirthday, I had to go get (fasting) blood work done this morning. I went to my primary care doctor yesterday for a physical, and my insurance requires that I get a blood lipid profile and blood sugar testing. It'll be interesting to see the numbers. Last time I had them done was in July 2010, and I was about the same weight I am now.

Oh, and speaking of "specimens" for the lab... At the doctor's office yesterday, I used the restroom while I was waiting to see the doctor. When I was washing my hands, I noticed that there was a little door in the wall next to the sink, and there was a sign on it that said "Please place specimens in here." I have no idea why, but I was so tempted to look and see if there were any specimens in there! Hahaha, but I didn't. It was just odd--I've never seen that before.

So everything went well with the doctor yesterday. I had her document the problems I'm having with my loose belly skin, and she definitely thinks I would benefit (medically) from getting a tummy tuck. My plastic surgery consult is a week from today!! I'm so nervous. Jerry is off work, so he's going to go with me (I hate driving in Detroit by myself!) while my mom watches my kids.

I spent a long time yesterday making a Garmin tutorial page to send out with my Garmin. I am going to try and ship it today. I just need to buy some packing tape first. I got it all boxed yesterday and then realized I have no tape.  I'm also trying to work on typing recipes. I probably have about 40 more to go right now. I'm excited to get them all on the blog and into one place--it'll be easy on me when I need to find something.

I also went to Sam's Club yesterday while I was out. They have Castlewood Havarti cheese again (they only have it sometimes, and I get so happy when they do!) so I bought two packages of it. I also bought some rye bread to make the best grilled cheese EVER. I also bought a bag of almonds--let's hope that they last as long as they should! Almonds tend to be a binge food for me, but usually it's when I have chocolate chips in the house too (I eat them together). I don't have any chocolate chips right now, and I won't buy them.

Today was my first once-a-month weigh-in. I wasn't too thrilled. Normally, when I really focus on counting calories, the weight drops pretty quickly, at least for a few weeks. But this time, it's not really going anywhere. I was 148 today. My only theory is that I started my advanced 10k training this week, so I've been running every day. And when I exercise, my body likes to hold on to weight. THAT is the reason I didn't exercise for the first 60 pounds I lost--every time I would start, my weight loss would stall, so I'd quit again. I know that your muscles tend to hold on to water when you do more exercise than you're used to, so hopefully that should level off soon. I might weigh in another week or two just to see :) 

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If you saw the "specimens" door in the bathroom, would you have peeked? ;)

Also, do you go through phases with food? I tend to get really obsessed with something, buy a ton of it and eat it daily, and then one day I just STOP. And move on to something else.

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RECIPE: Chili

This is an ordinary, plain ol', simple chili recipe. Sometimes you just need to go back to the basics, right? I always use ground turkey, because my family likes it better than beef, but you could use either one.

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Chili

2 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. lean ground turkey (or beef)

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce (or just use more crushed or diced tomatoes)

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more, depending on how spicy you like it)

1 jalapeño pepper, minced (remove membranes and/or seeds to reduce the spice)

1 green bell pepper, diced

In a medium pot, heat oil and brown ground turkey with onions and garlic. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, and cumin. Simmer for about 1 hour, adding beans after 30 minutes. I like to serve this with corn muffins.

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RECIPE: Meatball Stroganoff

This is super fast and easy to make if you use frozen meatballs!

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Meatball Stroganoff

4 servings of turkey meatballs (24 small meatballs total)
1 onion, chopped
1 can mushrooms, drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sour cream
4 servings (8 oz.) egg noodles

Cook pasta according to package directions. Put the meatballs in the microwave for a couple of minutes to thaw. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, and cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and broth and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs, and simmer for a few minutes. Combine the cornstarch with a splash of cold water, and add it to the pot. Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the sour cream and warm through. Serve over pasta. Makes 4 servings.

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